Conversation Piece
by akaStoryteller
Summary: Malcolm is willing to take Gil's advice about doing more normal things to heart. But that must involve a little research first.


Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Prodigal Son. I'm just having a little fun with the characters.

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**Conversation Piece**

**By: akaStoryteller (Vanessa Sgroi)**

Standing alongside Detective Gil Arroyo and slightly in front of JT Tarmel and Dani Powell, Malcolm Bright listened intently as Dr. Edrisa Tanaka ran down the list of her initial findings on one of the victims in their current case. He stepped closer to the table and perused the body, nodding at different times in agreement with the doctor's comments and throwing out a couple of pertinent questions before stepping back and shoving his hands decisively into his coat pockets. He mentally added what they'd just heard to his growing profile and watched Dani and JT leave the room before nudging Gil and telling him he'd find his own way back to the station. When they were gone, Malcolm cleared his throat.

"Do you have a couple of minutes, Dr. Tanaka?"

Surprised, Edrisa paused in her task of covering the body with the sheet. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you have more questions about the autopsy?"

"Um, noo…I mean, yes, I have a couple of questions… well, one specifically, but not about the victim," Malcolm paused and took a deep breath.

"All right," the ME quickly finished covering the body before turning her attention again to the forensic psychologist. "So…"

"Dr. Tanaka…"

"Call me Edrisa." She motioned for Malcolm to follow her to a small office area adjacent to the autopsy suite.

"Edrisa…" Malcolm smiled and dipped his chin. He eased down into a chair situated in front of a small desk and waited for Edrisa to sit before he continued. "Uh, where do I start—you're probably going to think this is really strange. And for that I apologize ahead of time."

The medical examiner smiled. "Apology preemptively accepted."

"So…as we've both seemed to recognize, you and I, well, we seem to share an affinity for death…" Immediately deciding that was too blunt, perhaps even bordering on creepy, Malcolm tried again. "What I mean is…I believe we're both fascinated by the dead…" He paused again and ran a hand down his face. "I'm making a mess of this."

"I think what you are getting at is that we are both highly intrigued by what the dead can tell us? So much so that we both make our living at it in different ways."

"Yes! Exactly." Malcolm's blue eyes sparkled. "And…and…well, this is probably a silly question but—I know people think we're both rather macabre, or certainly in my case that's true but—since we seem to share this interesting enthrallment shall we say, I'm curious—what do you do that's _normal_?" Malcolm finally trailed off, looking discomfited.

"You think I'm abnormal?"

"What?! No! No, I…"

"I'm teasing."

"What I mean is—what kind of normal things do you do when you're not doing…" Malcolm waved his hands in the air. "…_this_."

"I belong to a group that collects Victorian momento mori photographs," Edrisa deadpanned.

"Oh. Well, that's…uh…"

"Not normal at all. I know."

"You see, Gil—Detective Arroyo, that is—has been encouraging me to go out and do more normal things. And I'm—God, I feel so stupid even talking about this—I thought I'd compile a list of things that people do and maybe see if there's anything I'd like to try."

"AHHH, so you're looking for NORMAL normal things. Got it." Edrisa quieted for a moment and tapped a finger against her chin. "Let's see…I like to do crosswords and Sudoku. Oh, and logic puzzles! I bake! You know, things like cakes and cookies. In fact, there are cookies out at the reception desk right now that I just brought in this morning. Make sure to take some when you leave."

"Okay. So puzzles and baking…" Malcolm started making a mental list of potential things to try.

"I crochet and knit. Definitely better at crocheting though. Tried my hand at needlepoint once but…"

"Crochet. Knitting. Needlepoint." Malcolm added them to the list and crossed them off simultaneously.

"Oh, I bowl. Well, I used to bowl…on a league…but they really don't appreciate it when you can't always show up every week."

"Bowling?" Malcolm frowned. "Probably won't work—I'm not very good with my hands," his cheeks grew a little pink, "I mean, sports—team sports. I'm not very good at sports—like that."

Edrisa couldn't help but giggle. "So no team sports. That's okay because that's the only sport in repertoire. I mean, when I go to the gym I do mostly solitary things like the treadmill…" The doctor paused, picking up a pencil and tapping it on the desk. "I read. A lot. Historical stuff…historical fiction…" It was the medical examiner's turn to blush a little. "Okay, trashy historical romance but…"

Malcolm pulled in a deep breath, shifted in his seat, and glanced at his watch. "Well on that note, I've probably taken up enough of your time. I apologize again if…"

"OH! I sing karaoke!"

"You do?"

Edrisa nodded in the affirmative. "It's at this great place called Hairy Harry's. Every Friday and Saturday—open mike karaoke. I go as often as I can. I find it really relaxing—fun to let loose a little. You should give it a try!"

"Me? Sing? Like in front of people," Malcolm sheepishly shook his head. "THAT is not something anyone wants to see…or more importantly hear."

"No, really, I think you probably have a great voice. Even if you don't, no one ever seems to care."

"I don't think…"

Edrisa smiled. "Hey, no pressure. Listen, if you want to show up one night and I happen to be there, we'll sing a duet."

"A duet?"

"Sure. Something sappy and cheesy. Maybe from the 80s or 90s. Those are astonishingly popular."

Malcolm stood and smiled. "Well, if I ever feel the need to publicly humiliate myself by trying to sing in front of a crowd, I will keep that in mind."

"Good!" Edrisa jumped to her feet. "It's a date! I mean, it's not a date date—it's an open invitation to a mutual collaboration in the name of fun and relaxation."

Malcolm leaned forward and took hold of Edrisa's hand and offered a gentlemanly bow. "Thank you, Dr. Tanaka. This…this has been quite a _not normal_ conversation. And I find that I enjoyed it immensely."

"Did I help at all?"

"You did indeed. You contributed greatly to my search for normal." Malcolm turned to leave. "Oh!" He glanced over his shoulder. "One day we'll have to have a conversation about that Victorian momento mori group. It sounds rather interesting."

_**FIN**_

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A/N: This was just a little conversation between Malcolm and Edrisa that I kept hearing in my head. I love these two together-I think they're funny with each other.


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